I Picked Up a Witch from a Novel

Episode 3-a. The Flower That Smells Like Rotting Corpses.

“So you’re saying there’s a flower that smells like rotting corpses?”

“Ah, yes! The villagers told me! They said the smell is really strong if you get too close. But despite that, they consider it a pride of the village!”

On the second day, the way Goldsun calls me has changed to ‘brother.’

“Hm, where is it located?”

“According to the villagers, it’s said to be near the valley next to the village, which is pretty fascinating, right? So how about we go see it together later, brother!”

He was quite a sociable person, always smiling and busy moving around even while lounging in the barn.

This news probably came from him chatting with the villagers, but he truly was an extraordinarily lively person.

“It’s a bit troublesome… I’m still feeling sluggish, and I don’t really feel like climbing a mountain…”

“Come on! You should move more when you feel sluggish to feel better! And apparently, this flower produces fruits! I got a few, look! Aren’t they pretty?”

Regardless of my sprawled-out figure among the straw, Goldsun cheerfully presented something.

And.

To put it boldly, the bright red, round fruits resting in his hands looked just like drops of blood.

“…, they look like drops of blood.”

“Hey, wouldn’t it be better if you said they look like red beads?”

“Well, let’s say that.”

“Isn’t it interesting, brother? They said if we wait a few days, we can see the fruits growing! They say the fruits appear monthly! How fascinating is that, haha!”

“Hm, I’ll think about it.”

“We three are planning to go see it tonight, brother!”

Goldsun said this and went out of the barn, wrapping his arms around the waists of two girls, his childhood friends.

In an instant, the barn fell quiet, leaving just me and my companions behind, and I pondered in the silence.

A flower that smells like rotting corpses and holds blood-like fruits that appear monthly.

A curious and strange flower in a small village we stopped by while heading east.

Even though it was a coincidental visit for rest, did the prophecy letter truly not include this in its predictions?

With that thought, I turned to look at my other companions.

“What do you all think?”

Everyone was exhausted and sprawled out, but I was still a bit curious about their opinions.

“Hmm, I don’t know. The world has so many strange and interesting things, so I think it’s just one of those things.”

“…, really?”

“Yeah, honestly, at this point, it’s not even that interesting. It’s just a flower that smells like a corpse producing bright red fruits. Having lived for several hundred years, it doesn’t strike me as particularly notable.”

Old Horn seemed to take a moment to think, then abruptly voiced his thoughts before dropping his head again and quickly falling asleep, snoring.

And the children crawled over and climbed onto my legs, looking up at me with bright eyes.

“We’re curious! Right, Tori?”

“Honestly, I’m not that curious, but since Yaki is, I’ll say I am too.”

“Don’t lie, Tori. You were all sparkly-eyed when you heard the story!”

“That was you, idiot.”

“…, both of you, just be quiet.”

Of course, the two children were too busy playfully bickering while perched on my legs, so nothing particularly helpful came from them.

Still.

Avery, who spoke last, at least had a somewhat useful point.

“Well, I think it might be worth researching, Ain. New materials are important…”

“The flower? Or the fruit?”

He seemed to think deeply for a moment, then nodded at me.

“Truth is, it would be great to obtain both, but just from what I’ve heard, they probably won’t part with the prideful flower of the village… But I think it’d be worth trying to at least obtain the fruits for research.”

“Well then, we should at least go check it out.”

“Haha, then I’ll go too.”

Though he might not seem very trustworthy, he actually took on the largest role among my companions.

He was the one who stayed up late at night working on developing medicine for the treatment or long-term suppression of the ash-gray sickness.

However.

“But if you pull your usual ‘20% success rate’ or some nonsense about succeeding within three tries again, I swear I’ll really smack you.”

“Ah, no….”

“Just outright say the chances of success are low, you idiot. Don’t get my hopes up for no reason.”

He had already wasted countless materials, all while claiming he would succeed this time around.

Of course, I wasn’t mad about the resource expenditure, but it was annoying when he kept saying he would succeed and to expect great results.

“Still, it, might succeed this time…?”

“Hey, you punk. You’ve already wasted over a hundred plants of sun-cho, what? Do you want to die?”

“Haha… Thanks to you, I’ve gathered good data. As expected, Ain, you’re good at gathering materials!”

So.

I kicked at Avery’s side, trying to make him mad.

“Ugh… Viol, violence is bad…”

“You idiot, don’t you know that sometimes you need to give a little tough love?”

“Ugh…, then you should try to fix the ash-gray sickness with tough love….”

Wow.

Look at this guy.

You’re going to regret it today, seriously.

Night comes.

The mournful cries from the barn had already ended before evening, and I, Avery, and the twins were now heading to the hill with Goldsun.

“You’re being too much… Can’t a person just play around a bit…?”

“At least you shouldn’t cross the line.”

Where did I learn such terrible manners, telling someone with ash-gray illness to solve it with harsh measures?

“Well, you hit me first.”

“But this idiot still can’t get his mind straight and talks?”

As I thought about that, my anger rose again, and I subtly raised my fist, causing Avery to step back with a squeak and walk a bit farther away from me.

Thus, like usual, I bickered with Avery. Goldsun and the girls walking ahead chuckled at us.

“Haha! You and your companions really look great together! It feels like you truly are one heart and one mind!”

“This?”

“Well, the fact that you can bicker like that shows your friendship, doesn’t it? If it was awkward, you wouldn’t even be able to act like that and would separate!”

“Well, true…”

What Goldsun said was correct, but it didn’t seem like the right moment to mention such a scene.

And.

As I was thinking that while walking.

“…, the smell.”

A strong, pungent odor began to assault my nostrils, causing me to frown.

“Ugh, the smell…”

“No, the smell is worse than I expected…, ugh.”

Everyone climbing the hill made faces just like mine, soon holding our breath and pinching our noses.

It was a far stronger smell than I anticipated.

The smell of rotting corpses is something an ordinary person would never have encountered before, so the moment it hit me, I felt an instinctive revulsion wash over me.

The metallic scent of blood spilled when a person dies, or the stench of excrement released as the body gives up, was nothing compared to this smell.

It was a repulsive odor that could turn even the eager faces of the children into frowns, so I picked up the twins.

“Both of you, keep your noses pinched.”

““Yes…””

Although they were already squeezing their noses and responding with nasally voices, the strong smell that they had experienced just once lingered in the air.

Anyway.

We pressed on, frowning as we crossed the hill and entered the valley.

“Is that the flower? At that size, isn’t it just a tree?”

I muttered as I looked at the massive flower filling the valley.

It had a thick stalk and petals that loomed skyward, larger than a building to simply classify it as a flower.

The stunning petals that had been hidden away were each the size of a building’s roof, and the roots protruding from the ground were absurdly thick.

Moreover, it was nighttime, and the moonlight scattered across the scene, lending it an oddly beautiful appearance.

We stood there, staring in awe, before inhaling together and wrinkling our noses again.

“Wow, it’s really big and fascinating, brother! The smell is…, ugh… a bit intense.”

“Eh~ Is that really a flower~? So huge…, eww. The smell is so bad…!”

““Wow~ it’s really big…, eww.””

“Hmm… If the petals aren’t viable, I’d at least like to gather some stems…”

We stared at the flower for quite a long time.

Of course, when we returned to the barn, we had to frown again at the smell that had seeped into our clothes.

To put it bluntly.

It was undoubtedly something the villagers would smile about, proudly declaring it to be their village’s treasure.

Even the strange foreboding contained in the smell of rotting corpses.

As I looked at it, the sight was pleasant enough that the uneasiness could almost be washed away.

Although I couldn’t shake off that sense of foreboding.

We would simply fall asleep once more in the straw of the barn.

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